The Effect of Sassanid Pictorial Traditions on Shiraz School Miniature in Al-e Inju Era

Fars region, both in pre-Islamic and Islamic periods, was a center for government and consequently for culture and art. This matter caused the growing and improvement of book illustration in this region. There are various illustrated manuscripts in Shiraz School in different periods that prove this. Considering produced manuscripts in this region which are independent of eastern Iran pictorial traditions, the question is: how can be the effect of pre-Islamic pictorial art as an imagery tradition observed in this area? The purpose of this article is to find similar aspects between pre-Islamic imagery tradition and illustrated Shahnama of Al-e Inju in the Fars region. In this article, first, we have had a short survey of picture and book illustration in some of the books of Iranian historians (such as Ibn Balkhi, Masudi, Istakhri etc) and then Sassanid pictorial specifications and the roots of Shiraz School book illustration in Al-e Inju era have been considered. Comparing the proportion and composition of artwork in two Shahnamas of Shiraz School in Al-e Inju period and pre-Islamic survived reliefs is also done in this research. We have chosen analytic-comparative method of research along with library data collection. Regarding historical documents and comparing pictorial elements, it can be said that the pictorial tradition in this area is based on pre-Islamic pictorial tradition and such tradition has a significant role in the formation of Shiraz School.